Gary Boas, News Editor, gary.boas@photonics.comResearchers face old-school challenges in developing state-of-the-art technologies. Researchers and clinicians use fiber optic-based probes for a wide range of applications – which means the probes must exhibit varying amounts of complexity. On one end of that spectrum sit the...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESEndospectroscopic Imaging Takes Optical Biopsies to the Next LevelSpectroscopy has the potential to provide pathologists with fast in vivo tissue characterization to determine tumor type and grade and to delineate tumor margins. However, extending the applicability...BioPhotonics January 2018 IssueLaser Light Source Delivers Superior Optical ControlLegacy light sources such as halogen and metal halide produce highly collimated directional beams, but with short life and lower efficiency than LED sources. LEDs are highly efficient and long...Photonics Spectra November 2017 IssueLight Is the Ultimate Medium for High-Speed CommunicationsSilicon photonics is widely considered a key enabling technology for further development of optical interconnect solutions needed to address growing traffic on the internet. From the first submarine...EuroPhotonics March 2017 IssueOptical Fibers Illuminate Brain ActivityMedical imaging faces inherent limitations depending on its presentation mode. Computer models and virtual reality, while much more effective than two-dimensional depictions, are nonetheless images...BioPhotonics January 2017 IssuePRODUCTSFiber Optic Micro-CathetersThe FISO-LS series of fiber optic microcatheters from Harvard Apparatus was designed as semidisposable for multi-use applications in the life sciences and small animal research. Unlike its...Photonics.com 5/22/2017The Ultimate Polisher for BiophotonicsNOVA™ is multi-configurable, supporting a variety of biophotonic polishing applications from connectors to endoscopes, OCT bare fibers to image bundles, as well as custom components....Promoted Content May 2018 IssueExtended Wavelength and SWIR EmittersMarktech Optoelectronics has announced emitters in the extended wavelength or shortwave infrared range. The Marktech extended wavelength standard SWIR package offerings include the TO-46 flat; TO-46...BioPhotonics January 2017 IssueTension CleaverThe Fujikura CT-104 tension cleaver from AFL is designed for fibers with a cladding diameter of 80 to 600 µm. Developed to address the medical and fiber laser markets, the CT-104 fiber...Photonics Spectra February 2017 IssueMEDIASCHOTT Solutions for InVitro DiagnosticsLight is not always simply light when it comes to clinical diagnoses, light is the key to prediction accuracy in analytical quality. Our solution: a flexible fiber optic multi-branch device with...Photonics.com 3/14/2018Light Matters Extra: Taking Photonics Innovations from the Lab to the Operating Room - 01.2018In this month's Light Matters Extra, we give you an in-depth look at the relationship between researchers and scientists at the University of California Davis, and surgeons and clinicians at nearby...Photonics.com 1/18/2018Photonics on the Showroom Floor and in the Lab - LIGHT MATTERS 02.2018On this month's episode of Light Matters, we take you on a brief tour of the Higgins Laboratories at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Quinsigamond Community College and WPI received a $4M grant...Photonics.com 2/21/2018Photonics West 2017 Ushers in the New Year - LIGHT MATTERS 02.2017Photonics Media followed the photons all the way to San Francisco earlier this month for SPIE’s Photonics West 2017. The year truly begins with this event for many in the industry, as it is a symbol...Photonics.com 2/23/2017WHITEPAPERSOptSim Circuit: A SPICE-Like Photonic Simulator for Scalable PhotonicThe time for large-scale photonic integrated circuits (PICs) has arrived. Governments, academia and industry are all onboard to transfer knowledge gained from decades of manufacturing experience in...Photonics.com 4/1/2017FISBA’s Fast Axis Collimators Improve Diode Laser System PerformanceDiode lasers are efficient, compact, and robust laser sources, but the output beams from diode lasers are divergent and must be shaped to optimize their optical quality. FISBA’s Fast Axis Collimator...Photonics.com 8/1/2017Advances in Precision Parallel Robotics: Hexapods Improve Production ProcessesPrecision assembly processes in the semiconductor, electronics, and automobile industries are benefitting from new capabilities of hexapod 6-axis motion and positioning systems in production...Photonics.com 5/1/2017Optimal Lighting Design Boosts Efficiency of Medical Diagnostic InstrumentsWhen it comes to clinical diagnoses, light is the key to prediction accuracy and to making progress in analytical quality. However, light is not always simply light. “What really makes the difference...Photonics.com 10/1/2018WEBINARSComputational Microscopy, Sensing and Diagnostics for Telemedicine and Global Health ApplicationsAdditional Questions and Answers from the Webinar are below: With more than 6 billion cell phone users in the world, the majority of them in developing countries, there are opportunities for...Photonics.com 6/5/2013Micro-Spectroscopy: Enabling Research From Novel Nano-Devices To Clinical DiagnosisMicro-spectroscopy is an ever developing modality for new and exciting research in the areas of nano-technology and bioscience. This webinar will look at modular approaches to microspectroscopy and...Photonics.com 3/24/2015Biophotonic Imaging for Medicine: A Digital ConferenceResearchers from around the world presented their latest work at “Biophotonic Imaging for Medicine: A Digital Conference.” Presentations focused on a range of light-based imaging and...Photonics.com 6/11/2015Simulating Metamaterials in the Terahertz RegimeIf you want to learn how to simulate metamaterials in the terahertz regime, then tune into this webinar, presented by COMSOL. Metamaterials are engineered to have specific material properties. They...Photonics.com 4/27/2017PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMScladding glassIn fiber optics, the glass that is found around the glass core of the fiber, and that has a lower refractive index than the fiber.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009ultraviolet fiber optics (UVFO)Special glasses that extend the usable range of fiber optics well into the ultraviolet region. The fibers have a core of high-purity, nonfluorescing quartz clad with an ultraviolet-transmitting...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009high-performance parallel interface (HIPPI)A very high bandwidth communication line often used in fiber optics.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009bandwidth-limited operationIn fiber optics, the limitation on performance imposed by the system bandwidth rather than the amplitude of the signal.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009PHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESA History of the Laser: A Trip Through the Light FantasticA HISTORY OF THE LASER In honor of the laser turning 50, here is a timeline of some of the more notable scientific accomplishments related to light amplification by stimulated emission of...Photonics HandbookLight Is the Ultimate Medium for High-Speed Communications: Thanks to innovations with heterogeneous material integration and multiphotonic layer stacking, silicon photonics will drive optical solutions to high volumes and low costs.Silicon photonics is widely considered a key enabling technology for further development of optical interconnect solutions needed to address growing traffic on the internet. From the first submarine...Photonics HandbookFluorescence Lifetime Imaging Made Easy: Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), which measures the spatial distribution of the fluorescence decay, can be achieved either in the time or in the frequency domain. Each approach exhibits advantages and disadvantages, depending on the type of light detector and acquisition method employed.The term fluorescence is often applied as a synonym for photoluminescence, although luminescence actually covers fluorescence and phosphorescence. Both of these terms describe the process of...Photonics HandbookAspheric Lenses: Design Considerations: This first of two articles will cover design and manufacturing options for aspheres; the second will include more detail on manufacturing and testing processes. These articles will provide the tools optics designers need to tailor their designs to the appropriate manufacturing process and to optimize the cost of component fabrication.Aspheric surfaces are powerful tools that combine the optical corrections of multiple lenses into a single element (Figure 1) and affect performance in ways that spherical optics cannot. For example,...Photonics HandbookPHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESEndoscopesAn endoscope is a medical instrument used to view inside the human body. The endoscope may use a coherent fiber optic bundle or conventional optics to relay the image to the eye or a television...Fiber Optic Laser Delivery SystemsFiber Optic Test EquipmentFiber Optic Video Transmission SystemsCOMPANIESEvanescent Optics Inc.Evanescent Optics Inc. acquired the assets and employee group of Canadian Instrumentation & Research Ltd. in August 2009 and continues production and development of the suite of fiber optic...Photonics Buyers' Guide